G00MER

No way! I was working at the roadside and saw that truck pull into the garage. I pretty much chased him and had a good look at it. Even weirder, APE was a company name I thought about!

That was my thinking. Two people I work with have decent aluminium hard tops on their trucks, both cost £2+

The basic canopy shells would all be the same, and fairly easy to produce. They would only differ when it comes down to fitting it out with optional drawers, dividers, roof racks etc

The idea is to have a standard size for double, xtra, and single cabs with just different mounts for different chassis. There’s also the possibility of having a flat bed with the canopy being removable

I’m not sure yet. If there’s interest and I buy materials and parts in bigger quantities they get cheaper. Good hinges, locks, seals, lighting etc add up. I met a farrier who had imported a basic one from Australia for just under £5k, and saw a dodgy home made looking job that were asking £4K+. Really rough guess, probably start at just over £3k for a basic canopy. After that depends what you want... colour coded, Inverter, batteries, solar panels, fridge, water... anything really. I want to make them realistically priced, but they’ve also got to be actually worth making.

The one in the picture is quite kitted out. The basic canopy is fairly simple but can endlessly fitted out with drawers, dividers, storage, rear door, whatever is needed for its purpose. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I’d much rather take twice as long to make one at a time exactly how it’s wanted than have a factory making loads.

Hopefully not. It should be more secure than any hardtop or even the back of a van.

Yeah, I wish I had done it earlier!

Hi all. So after 14 odd years of climbing I’m feeling old and debating hanging up my harness. Working as a subby climber all my kit is chucked in the back of my hilux day to day and getting it in and out annoys me because you can’t reach whatever you want without climbing in. So... Before I started tree work I did welding/fabricating, and after seeing the ‘ute canopies’ used in Australia I’ve finally started to make one for myself after years of just thinking about it. Something similar to this I think they’re awesome and make the back so much more usable. My question is, do you guys think there’s a market for this type of thing in this country? They’re big business in Australia but I have my doubts as I’m not sure we use trucks as much here. Should I start making them?

I guess its just a coincidence that all your kit goes missing while stow is inundated with white transits and caravans while the travelers fair is on!

Hi just wondering if anyone could offer some knowledge on forestry/timber in France. Long story short, my uncle lives in the south and has about 17 hectares of oak woodland that he wants clearing/thinning. I've just been told he sold a hectare to a guy (for 2000euros!) who came in and by all accounts wrecked the place, taking all the best trees and leaving the brash everywhere. Now the guy keeps pestering him and has turned up knocking on the door asking if he can go and take more. I'm not sure of the quality as i haven't seen it yet personally but i'm told they're all pretty clean straight trees upto 2.5ft dbh and about 50ft tall, so potentially some decent timber and some firewood. So if someone could give me a rough ballpark figure as to what standing or felled timber/firewood is worth down there it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEFCQRwj28w&feature=player_detailpage]Jeb Corliss - Grounded - YouTube[/ame] I guess it was only a matter of time before he pushed it a bit too far! Any lower and it probably would have been game over.

I looked into them last year and you can buy them direct from the manufacturers for $2599 (£1640). Not sure what shipping and import would be on top of that though.

BBC News - Bungee cord snaps above crocodile-infested waters Looking at the cord I can't say I would have jumped!

Sorbus-International in Frome are probably the closest supplier to you with a good selection of kit. Maybe get on a course first so you know what you need and more importantly how to use it properly, or see if you can find someone to take you for a climb before you spend lots on kit and find you dont actually like climbing!